


Royalty.

by Nodame



Series: Banana Fish AUs [1]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Delusions, Drug Use, Emotional Manipulation, First Love, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insomnia, Kidnapping, M/M, Misunderstandings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Rape/Non-con, Prison, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-06 02:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15876579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nodame/pseuds/Nodame
Summary: Ash Lynx has had enough of delusional fantasies and decided to explore the truth behind the royalty himself.Or so he wanted to think, but the only person that mattered was prince Eiji.Alternate Universe - Kingdoms, princes and underage prostitution.Please keep in mind that the tags will eventually change.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, fellow fish. I just wanted to point out that English is not my first language, rather than that, it's my third, so pardon the spelling errors! 
> 
> For those who are not familiar with my fanfictions thanks to my main account, this will be updated weekly. Have fun! Comments are open for criticism!

_Dark, tall walls with hints of orange near the dim lights of candles. An agonizing silence interrupted by the distant screams of a greedy crow. A room. A cage. Cold, hollow, empty._

 

_Lonely._

 

_So, so lonely._

 

_  He has wondered for a moment, how did he end up in this situation? _

_______

 

 

 "Officer! _Officer_!! That way!"

 

 

 The unsettling rustles of sharp heels against the sidewalk echoed through the alleys of China Town. As busy as it was, the boy  _danced_ around passengers in swift, trained movements. Escaping the officers. Once again. For the _11th time that week._ He ran, and ran, and _ran_ , down the streets to abandoned houses and back to his so-called shelter. He breathed in, sharp inhales, teary eyes, shaking hands and _shitty_ life.

 

 

 The constant fight for a living contrasted with greed and mistreatment from the ruling family had the poor 12 years old in a tight, suffocating choice: The _criminal_ life, or the _prostitute_ life.

 He wanted to stay away from _both_.

 He didn't want this life.

 _He didn't want to live_.

 

He has never asked to be  _born_ in the first place.

 

 The blond settled down on the hard, splintering floor next to a wooden door. In a failed attempt to escape the harsh, _biting_ cold of December, Ash pressed his trembling knees against his chest and slid small, injured arms around his legs. Nuzzling against them, the stray cat breathed in the smell of salty sweat, blood, robbery,

 

And _sex_.

 

 Ash inhaled at the bitter-tasting memories. Large hands roaming his petite body. Gross lips pressing against his temple. Ghostly hickeys peppered _mercilessly_ on his porcelain skin. He  was convinced that now, he was alone, safe, far  _far_  away from the monstrous claws of Dino and his clients. But Ash can _still_ see them. Can still hear them. Can still feel the greasy facial hair against his back. The harsh, sadistic hands pressing against his frame. Like _beasts_ lulling their  preys into a sense of sugar-coated mercy. Telling him to relax his body. Ordering him to _bend_ over.  To-

 

 

 The boy closed his eyes, taking a shaky bite of the stolen bread. A lump that he soon regurgitate out of _disgust_ and nausea.

 

 

 His thoughts wandered around in haphazard directions. A habit of his to make himself feel _slightly_ better. Ash would think about the nice things life would have offered him _, if he lived a normal one._ It'd have been nice to live under a roof, surrounded by a family, warm food, a bed. Go to school, play hide and seek with the neighbourhood children, jump in rivers, eat ice cream, chase bugs in hot summer days.

 

 He dreamed more. Warmth, happiness, peace of mind, security,

 

  _Love_.

 

 It echoed again and again in his mind. 

 

  _Love_.

 

  _Love_.

 

  "Love," he spelled out the letters in a trembling voice. Unsure. _Afraid_? Curious maybe? Ash has never experienced love before. He has read about it in old books Dino offered him, has heard people talk about it. Has heard customers taking about _wanting_ to make it to  him-

 

 He shook his head, shoving the unbidden feel of nausea curled up inside his stomache uncomfortably

 

  Does it feel nice? Would it give him the warmth he _so_ longed for? How does love look like?

 

 His thoughts drifted away into another direction. Trying to picture soft hands running though his locks, low whispers lulling him into peace of mind. Gentle touches and roams and warm hugs and,

 

 _black hair_.

 

A familiar figure popped up in his mind. Images clear in his mind despite the passing years.

 

_Okumura_.

 

 His face was still blurry in his mind. Yet _so clear_ at the same time. Dark hair, matching the sharp eyes of a blooming prince.  Snipets of a soft, saccharine voice.

 

A _smile_. 

 

Warm, genuine. Affectionate probably?

 

But then, the images shifted. Now replaced with widespread rumors about the royalty. _'Haven't you heard?'_

_'It seems like it'_

_'I saw it with my own eyes!'_

_'My brother used to work there!'_

_'They're horrible.'_

_'Why are we letting them ruin our lives?!'_

 

' _We should take our pride and freedom back!'_

 

Rambling, rambling, more _rambling_. Ash was getting tired of it. Unnecessary opinions simmering inside his brain. He trusted his memory. Prince  Okumura was  _nothing_ like that. His hands were warm, his cheeks flushed with innocence. Voice shy a nd reserved. Gaze full of hopes and dreams and.

 _Love_?

Ash's eyes snapped open tersely,

_did he remember it wrong?_

Was Prince Eiji really the person Ash remembered him as?

Was it really _love_?

He needed to confirm it.

...

Even if it means going back to that rotten, _dirty, agonizing_ part of the posh castle.

He would be able to meet him, right? He met him before.

How and _why_ was it a blur, though?

He wanted to know.

He _needed_ to know.

A need that will soon concort his life into another direction.


	2. Cloy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before he could react, someone was cradling him in their arms. His shirt was already damp.
> 
> Tears? 
> 
> Ash breathed in the familiar scent. Trying to recollect his memories. 
> 
> Ah... could it be?

 "Fancy seeing you again, _Lynx_." The tall figure, slouched against the corridor's portals, greeted in a distorted tone, causing Ash to _trudge_ his way towards him instead of the otherwise confident steps he usually made to intimidate others. "Was poverty biting down your pretty stomach? _Papa_ Dino warned you. You can hide, run away as far as you can, but only _him_ can shelter you." Drawing a wide smirk across his lips, the man stepped closer, hands dangerously creeping closer towards Ash's petite frame. They aimed for his blond locks at first, moving down to stroke his shoulders. But Ash didn't flinch, content with only staring,  _scrutinizing_ , at the older man. "You're too _weak_ , Ash Lynx. You can't face society yet. It's cruel, full of wrath and lust and gluttony. They only care about themselves and their pockets. You had to _seduce_ your way out of hunger, didn't you?"

 

 Ash shoved off his _disgusting_ palm. Dino and his men were a _perfect_ fit in the man's description as well.

 

 "You climbed up the ranks using your pretty looks," the man took a step forward, "ran out of the castle using your pretty looks," another step, "god, _you even seduced the prince using your pretty looks._ "

 

 The blond flinched, eyes wide. The soldier's smile only grew wider. "Will you seduce your way back to the castle, Ash Lynx? _Or_ ," he narrowed his eyes, "will you ruin my hand _once again_?" He lifted up said hand, scars of a metal fork clear like water. Ash stared at it for a short while before walking past the older man. "You'd like it either way, _Arthur_. Don't get in my way unless you want your head blown off next." He tilted his head. "No one will save you from me when the time comes." The boy warned with a not-so-genuine smirk, waving his hand mockingly. 'Tch', is what he earned from Arthur, before he opened the corridor's portals.

 

 And so, Ash stepped inside the rotten castle. Leaving behind his bitter freedom, Arthur, and the forgotten _memories of a so-described seduced prince._

 

 It must have been another failed attempt to sweep Ash off his feet, right? 

 

  _Right_?

 

 _____

 

 As expected, Ash was greeted by the  _cloy_  scent emerging from the huge kitchen. The castle was known for its structure, and was even labelled as the poshest castle among the five kingdoms reigning over the island during its peak richess. But its other reputation was due to its _size_. Really, the castle was big, far _too_ big. Getting lost was very common, too. Ash remembered leading guests back to the yard during parties when they got lost, the panicked then relieved stares he'd notice in their eyes when they discovered that their savior was none other than a kid, the little presents he earned after each successful mission. Ash also remembered faint memories of him exploring corners and rooms and off-limits places during his free time. Shorter and him would quest to find candies, but somehow, Ash always ended up in the King's room, or the dancers' lockers, or even the prince's _private shower room_. Unfortunately, the latter one  was deemed to be Shorter's blackmail technique to make Ash give him two or three extra candies. Which propelled a terrible, terrible stomachache afterwards.

 

 Before Ash noticed, he was smiling. 

 

 He remembered the happy moments. Rare, but precious nonetheless. The friends he made. the sweets he stole from the old, grumpy but friendly chef. The flowers he planted and took care of in his hidden garden with another, poor child caught in between Dino's claws. The pies he baked with Shorter. The helmets he stole from guards. The stars he gazed at from his room's window. 

 He remembered the prince's face when Ash accidentally mistook his shower room for the storage room. The flustered cheeks, the wide eyes, the small, trembling body. The old grandma's incoherent scream. The bucket tossed straight to his face. 

 

 The prince's _feeble giggle._

 

  _Right_?

 

 ...was he remembering it wrong? 

 

 Ash halted his movement. He was confident his memories were clear. He remembered his daily routine, the people he befriended, the ones he loathed, the little details about each one of them. The dishes Nadia fed him, the candies he savoured, the seeds he planted. The wines he tasted, the guns he held, the kicks and stabs and tears.

 

  _Dino and his customers._

 

 A ball of unbidden uneasiness rested on his stomach, so he brushed the memories off. 

 Memories clear in his mind, except the ones leading back to prince Eiji. There was always this question. Was he remembering it wrong? Why were they a blur? Why was he so unsure when matters came back to the prince? To his _smile_? To his _voice_? _His eyes? The way he called his name-_

 

 " _Ash..?"_

 

 The blond turned around at the familiar ring.

 

 " _Ash_? Oh my god, _Ash_ , is that _you??"_

 

 Before he could react, someone was cradling him in their arms. His shirt was already damp. _Tears_?  

 

 Ash breathed in the familiar scent. Trying to recollect his memories. 

 

 Ah... _could_ it be?

 

 " _Shor...ter?"_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Next chapter is probably going to be the one Ash and prince Eiji meet for the second time.
> 
> Or is it the second time?


End file.
